Bobbin for braiding machines

ABSTRACT

Bobbin for braiding machines having a braiding spool and a thread tensioning element, comprising a locking device constituted by return stop means resiliently arranged between the bobbin and said spool and acting upon a toothed wheel operatively connected with said spool, and forward stop means which also act upon said wheel. The return stop means is preferably in the form of a locking lever while the forward stop means is preferably constituted by a bearing lever, in association with a ratchet lever pivoted thereon. The locking and bearing levers may have a common pivotal attachment to a support of the bobbin.

United States Patent Strangfeld 45] Aug. 29, 1972 [54] BOBBIN FORBRAIDING MACHINES [72] Inventor: Reiner Strangfeld, Oldenburg, Germany[73] Assignee: August Herzog Maschinenfabrik,

Am Alexanderhaus, Germany [22] Filed: Oct. 19, 1970 [21] Appl. No.:81,879

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 17, 1969 Germany ..P 19 52457.3

[52] US. Cl. ..87/57, 87/22 [51] Int. Cl ..D04c 3/18 [58] Field ofSearch ..87/22, 55, 56, 57, 18

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,358,216 11/1920 Klein.....87/22 1,354,084 9/1920 Wildi ..87/22 1,488,032 3/1924 Chace ..87/221,878,890 9/1932 Robinson ..87/22 Primary Examiner-John PetrakesAttorney-Allison C. Collard [5 7] ABSTRACT Bobbin for braiding machineshaving a braiding spool and a thread tensioning element, comprising alocking device constituted by return stop means resiliently arrangedbetween the bobbin and said spool and acting upon a toothed wheeloperatively connected with said spool, and forward stop means which alsoact upon said wheel. The return stop means is preferably in the form ofa locking lever while the forward stop means is preferably constitutedby a bearing lever, in association with a ratchet lever pivoted thereon.The locking and bearing levers may have a common pivotal attachment to asupport of the bobbin.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 29, 1972 3,686,997

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INVENTOR yj N @(Qm g;

BOBBIN FOR BRAIDING MACHINES which continuously change their direction.The inventive return stop prevents the spool from rotating in thedirection opposite to that of the thread run-off.

A special construction of the inventive forward stop enables the inertiaforces tobe used for accelerating the rotation of the spool in thethread run-ofi direction,

thus rendering the unwinding of the thread independent of its tension.

In a known bobbin of this type, a locking lever which prevents forwardmovement is of the one-part construction. When the locking lever is,first of all,

released by a thread tensioning element, it is possible for the formerto fall back into the same tooth gap when the tensioning element movesbackward, despite the fact that the forward bobbin turning impulse isabsent, and provided the locking lever is retained in the releaseposition. A further advantage is that the thread cannot be drawn freelyfrom the spool by manually releasing the forward stop when inserting thespool.

The object of the present invention is to avoid the disadvantages of theknown embodiment.

To achieve this object, and in accordance with the invention, a forward.stop, preferably in the form of 'a bearing lever, is constructed so thata pawl preventing forward movement of the spool can no longer engage theoriginal tooth gap of a spool wheel after the forward stop has beenreleased when the wheel is stationary. Due to the fact that the pawlalso remains released, movement of the inertia-conditioned spool cantake place after the release, independently of the movements of thethread tensioning element which is conditioned by the movement of thebobbin.

The construction of the inventive device is rendered less expensive byvirtue of the forward stop, in the form of a bearing lever, beingpivotable by the thread tensioning element, and on which is pivotablyarranged a spring-biased ratchet lever, urged in the direction oppositeto that in which the spool turns. In addition to the invention. It is tobe understood, however, that the drawing is designed for the purpose ofillustration only and not as a definition of the limits of theinvention.

In the drawing, wherein similar reference characters denote similarelements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1a schematically illustrates the inventive principle of a bobbinwith a locking device, having a return step and an engaged forward stop;

FIG. lb shows a plan view of an exemplary device embodying the principleof FIG. la;

FIGS. 2a and 2b show the arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b withthe forward stop disengaged; and

FIGS. 3a and 3b show the same arrangement with the forward stop abuttingagainst the toothed wheel of the spool in readiness for engagement.

A locking device arranged on a bobbin is shown in the illustrations inthree different working phases, 'each figure schematically showing thelockingdevice and, adjacent thereto, a practical embodiment thereof.

A bobbin support is generally designated 1, and a toothed wheel or rimcoupled to a braiding spool, so as to be non-rotatable relativelythereto, is designated 2.

The arrow in the toothed wheels 2 indicate the respective run-offdirection of the threads. The toothed wheel 2 is illustrated indevelopment in the schematic FIGS. la, 2a, and 3a. FIG. la shows areturn stop or locking lever 4, having a bearing point 3, arranged onthe bobbin support 1 together witha forward stop or bearing lever 6having a pawl element or ratchet lever '7 resiliently arranged thereon.Lever 6 also pivots about point 3. In the schematic illustrationsofFIGS. 1a, 2a, and 3a, spring elements 5a, 5b, and 5c are shown tovisualize the biasing action which is respectively ex erted on thereturn locking lever 4, the forward bearing lever 6 and the ratchetlever 7.

FIG. 2a shows the next phase in the working cycle, namely, the withdrawlof the bearing lever 6 by an impulse from a thread tensioning element(not shown), and the associated forward movement of the ratchet lever 7acted upon by the aforementioned spring 5c.

.FIG. 3a shows the return movement of the bearing lever 6, wherein theratchet lever 7, and thus the forward stop, or beating lever 6 itself,abuts against the the bearing lever 6 is in the readiness position.During this, it is possible freely to draw the thread from the a spoolby manually releasing the forward stop when inserting the spool.

A bobbin is already known which has a forward stop in the form of abearing lever, pivotable by the thread tensioning element, and on whichis movably arranged a pawl biased by a spring opposite to the directionin which the spool runs. However, a return stop is not provided in thisknown bobbin. Therefore, its toothed wheel is urged backward by thespring action of the locking lever so that the forward stop can fallback into the original tooth gap in the same manner as a forward stopwhich would be of the one-part construction.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description considered in connection withthe accompanying drawing which discloses the embodiments of rotation ofthe braiding spool in thethread run-off direction, the toothed wheel 2can now move in the direction of the arrow (See FIG. la) until theforward stop or bearing lever 6 engages the next recess of the spoolwheel, as shown.

FIG. 1b shows a practical embodiment of the inventive bobbin and lockingdevice. The return stop' or locking lever 4, which engages the toothedwheel 2 of the spool, is pivotably mounted on the bobbin support 1 atthe bearing point 3 adjacent the toothed wheel 2.

As stated before, the bearing lever 6 is also pivotably mounted in thebearing point 3 and, in the vicinity of its The return locking lever 4and the ratchet lever 7 are interconnected by a spring element, so thatthe two levers are both urged toward the toothed wheel. The springelement 5 thus assumes the combined functions of the springs 5a, 5b and5c indicated in FIGS. la, 2a, and 3a.

The two levers, 4 and 6, engage the wheel 2 in FIG. lb in conformitywith the schematic illustration in FIG. la. The locking device is thenin a phase in which the thread storage device of the bobbin isadequately filled, i.e., the thread tensioning element still does nottransmit an opening impulse to the forward stop 6.

FIG. 2b shows the bobbin and its locking device during the returnmovement of the forward stop 6, i.e., during actuation thereof by acoupling element (not illustrated). The. bearing lever 6 pivots incounterclockwise direction and lifts the ratchet lever 7 out of thetoothed wheel 2.

After the opening impulse, thebearing lever 6 and the-ratchet lever 7,which latter has been moved outwardly in the meantime, are returned bythe spring 5 so that the ratchet lever 7 abuts against the crest of thenext tooth, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3a so that the readinessposition of the forward stop 6 is established (FIG. 3b).

While only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it will be understood that many changes and modificationsmay be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a braiding machine including a braidingspool, a bobbin,comprising:

a rotatable wheel, having a plurality of teeth of uniform lengthdisposed on its periphery, coupled to the braiding spool;

means, disposed between the braiding spool and the bobbin, pivotablymounted on the braiding machine, and biased so as to engage said teethdisposed onsaid wheel, for preventing rotational movementof said wheelin a reverse direction but permitting forward movement of said wheel;and

a pawl, pivotably mounted on the braiding machine, and biased so as toengage said teeth on said wheel, for preventing forward movement of saidwheel when said pawl engages said teeth on said wheel,

whereby when said wheel is stationary, said pawl is pivoted away fromsaid wheel out of engagement with said teeth, thereby permittingsaidwheel to rotate, said pawl engaging the top surface of the toothfrom which it is disengaged and slidably moving along said tooth untilsaid pawl engages the next tooth disposed on said wheel, therebylimiting the movement of said wheel to a peripheral distance equal tothe distance between said teeth disposed on said wheel.

2. The bobbin as recited in claim 1, wherein said pawl comprises amounting lever, pivotably mounted on the braiding machine and coupled toa thread tensioning element of the machine for pivoting said mountinglever, and a ratchet lever, pivotably mounted on said mounting lever,for engaging said teeth provided-on said wheel, and biased in adirection opposite that of the forward movement of said wheel.

3. The bobbin as recited in claim 2, wherein said meansfor preventingreverse movement of said wheel comprises an L-shaped stop lever,pivotably secured at one end at a point common with the pivot point ofsaid mounting lever, and having a first abutment's urface at its otherend for engaging said teeth on said .wheel, said first abutment surfacehaving an inclined surface directed towards the forward movement of saidwheel for permitting said teeth to slidably move over said surface, anda second abutment surface, disposed perpendicular to said pivotablelever, for engaging said teeth provided on said wheel and therebypreventing rearward movement of said wheel. I

4. The bobbin as recited in claim 3, wherein said mounting lever furthercomprises an. abutment member, for limiting the movement of said ratchetlever, and wherein said ratchet lever is L-shaped and further comprisesa semicircular recess atone end thereof for receiving said abutmentmember and thereby limiting the pivotable movement of said ratchet leveron said mounting lever.

5. The bobbin as recited in claim 4, wherein said abutment member is acylindrical pin disposed perpendicular to the surface of said mountingmember.

6. The bobbin as recited in claim 4, wherein said ratchet lever and saidstop lever are biased to engage said teeth on said wheel by springmeans, coupled to said ratchet member at one end and said stop lever atthe other end.

7. The bobbin as recited in claim 6, wherein said pivot point of saidmounting lever and said stop lever is

1. In a braiding machine including a braiding spool, a bobbin,comprising: a rotatable wheel, having a plurality of teeth of uniformlength disposed on its periphery, coupled to the braiding spool; means,disposed between the braiding spool and the bobbin, pivotably mounted onthe braiding machine, and biased so as to engage said teeth disposed onsaid wheel, for preventing rotational movement of said wheel in areverse direction but permitting forward movement of said wheel; and apawl, pivotably mounted on the braiding machine, and biased so as toengage said teeth on said wheel, for preventing forward movement of saidwheel when said pawl engages said teeth on said wheel, whereby when saidwheel is stationary, said pawl is pivoted away from said wheel out ofengagement with said teeth, thereby permitting said wheel to rotate,said pawl engaging the top surface of the tooth from which it isdisengaged and slidably moving along said tooth until said pawl engagesthe next tooth disposed on said wheel, thereby limiting the movement ofsaid wheel to a peripheral distance equal to the distance between saidteeth disposed on said wheel.
 2. The bobbin as recited in claim 1,wherein said pawl comprises a mounting lever, pivotably mounted on thebraiding machine and coupled to a thread tensioning element of themachine for pivoting said mounting lever, and a ratchet lever, pivotablymounted on said mounting lever, for engaging said teeth provided on saidwheel, and biased in a direction opposite that of the forward movementof said wheel.
 3. The bobbin as recited in claim 2, wherein said meansfor preventing reverse movement of said wheel comprises an L-shaped stoplever, pivotably secured at one end at a point common with the pivotpoint of said mounting lever, and having a first abutment surface at itsother end for engaging said teeth on said wheel, said first abutmentsurface having an inclined surface directed towards the forward movementof said wheel for permitting said teeth to slidably move over saidsurface, and a second abutment surface, disposed perpendicular to saidpivotable lever, for engaging said teeth provided on said wheel andthereby preventing rearward movement of said wheel.
 4. The bobbin asrecited in claim 3, wherein said mounting lever further comprises anabutMent member, for limiting the movement of said ratchet lever, andwherein said ratchet lever is L-shaped and further comprises asemicircular recess at one end thereof for receiving said abutmentmember and thereby limiting the pivotable movement of said ratchet leveron said mounting lever.
 5. The bobbin as recited in claim 4, whereinsaid abutment member is a cylindrical pin disposed perpendicular to thesurface of said mounting member.
 6. The bobbin as recited in claim 4,wherein said ratchet lever and said stop lever are biased to engage saidteeth on said wheel by spring means, coupled to said ratchet member atone end and said stop lever at the other end.
 7. The bobbin as recitedin claim 6, wherein said spring means comprises a coil spring.
 8. Thebobbin as recited in claim 4, wherein said mounting lever, ratchet leverand stop lever are mounted on the braiding machine so that the commonpivot point of said mounting lever and said stop lever is horizontallyco-linear with the mounting axis of said wheel.
 9. The bobbin as recitedin claim 8, wherein said mounting lever and said ratchet lever aremounted on the braiding machine so as to be upwardly disposed and engagesaid teeth on the upper portion of said wheel, and wherein said stoplever is downwardly disposed, in a direction opposite said mountinglever and said ratchet lever, for engaging said teeth on the lowerportion of said wheel.